a) the days will soon start getting longer
b) it should (possibly, maybe) start warming up and
c) race season will soon be here!
Lots of my friends were racing this weekend and enjoyed successes at the Wokingham Half Marathon, Cross Country Leagues, Park Runs etc which were all great to hear! I too ventured out for a run at the Wyre Forest 8 hoping to improve on last year's 3rd place.
It really isn't my type of race. Hills, mud, swamps and more hills is a long way away from the flat tarmac runs I prefer! But nevertheless it's all good training. The first 2 miles are fab (because they are down hill!) and I clocked a 6:11 and a 5:52 feeling like a 'real runner' before dramatically slowing! It was interesting trying to curl your toes up to keep your trainers on so as not to lose them in the mud and after a while of carefully picking my path through the swamps I gave up and just ran hell for leather through the most direct route (isn't it funny when you run through a puddle though and it's much deeper than you think - anyone know that feeling?)
The last climb (as you can see from the above elevation chart) is a killer! Of course this is where my lovely boyfriend and friends chose to stand to cheer me on, I was practically stationary! It makes such a difference having that support though and my efforts were rewarded with finishing 2nd female, top 20 overall and nearly 3 minutes quicker than last year (despite tougher conditions). A nice shiny medal, trophy, bottle of bubbly and £30 vouchers were also thrown in for good measure! My friend Paul also had a fantastic run and Chris's cousin Phil came an impressive 8th in what was his first cross country run in 18 years!
 |
| Still smiling? This must be a grimace! |
This race comes on the back of a hard block of training. I've really found my mojo for training again and feel like I'm training with a real purpose this year. There's things I'd love to achieve this season and I'm working on developing the right mindset to achieve them. On top of that I'm surrounded by fantastic people and have recently started working and training with other local athletes who too have their own personal goals that with hard work and commitment, are well within reach. Training is fun and varied but I've come to learn that the only real way to achieve my goals is not through magic pills, secret tips or some mysterious science....it's through consistent training. So that's what I plan to do through the rest of February....oh except for Althorp Duathlon next Saturday, I might actually taper for that one?
Happy Training & Happy Racing Everyone....
